Lincoln's House Divided Speech

The House Divided Speech was a talk given by Abraham Lincoln, who later became the president of the United States. He gave this speech on June 16, 1858, in Springfield, at the Illinois State Capitol. At that time, Lincoln had just been chosen as the candidate for the US senator by the Illinois Republican Party.

Lincoln gave his speech after the party meeting ended for dinner and before it started again in the evening. His speech was the main event of that evening, and it was printed in newspapers and pamphlets right away. Although Lincoln’s speech was very important, he did not win the senatorial seat that year; it was held by Stephen A. Douglas. Later, in 1860, when Lincoln was running for president, he included this speech at the start of a book containing his debates with Douglas, called the Lincoln–Douglas debates. The “House Divided” speech became well-known and marked the beginning of Lincoln’s efforts to become president.

Overview

Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech in Springfield on June 16, 1858. In this speech, he talked about the problem of slavery and how it could split the country. He said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," meaning that the United States could not stay half for slavery and half against it.

Lincoln wanted to show how he was different from his opponent, Stephen Douglas. Douglas believed that new areas could decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. But Lincoln said that a court decision had made that impossible. He explained that the country would have to become either all for slavery or all against it. This speech became one of his most well-known talks, along with the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address.

Quotes

• "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Abraham Lincoln said that the United States could not stay split on the issue of slavery. He believed the country would need to become either all free or all allowing slavery. He warned that if people did not act, slavery might spread everywhere.

• The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed slavery in all parts of the country. Lincoln criticized this law, saying it meant that if one person wanted to treat another unfairly, no one could stop it.

• Lincoln talked about a court case called "Dred Scott," where a person named Dred Scott, who was treated unfairly because of his skin color, was fighting for his freedom. The court's decision in this case suggested that people could be treated unfairly in any state.

• Lincoln explained that some judges had hinted that states might not have the power to stop unfair treatment. He worried that without change, all states might eventually allow such unfair treatment.

Prior mentions of "a house divided"

The phrase "a house divided against itself" comes from old Christian writings. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said, "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." Similar ideas appear in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

Famous writers like Thomas Hobbes and Thomas Paine also used this phrase. In the United States, important people such as John Jay and Abigail Adams spoke about division in similar ways.

Before Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech, this idea was used often when talking about slavery, especially in Kansas. Newspapers and letters from that time used the phrase to describe the big split in the country over the issue of slavery.